The Shame About Fame

Olivia and Zoe are launching their own online talk show, and their first guest is Jay Smouse, who promises to stuff an amazing number of jelly beans in his mouth. At jelly bean number thirty-four, Jay starts to choke - Olivia shrieks into the phone while Zoe calmly saves him, and the video rockets past two hundred thousand views. Zoe becomes the town hero, but Olivia is mocked as "Frantic Girl," and when Zoe calls her "a bit dramatic" on TV, Olivia quits the show and the friendship. Meanwhile, Connie turns down Jillian, a bubbly pink-haired whirlwind, as a roommate for being too flighty... only to discover there's more to her than frosting. It takes an apology, a ridiculous rescue scheme, and a runaway trailer of CPR mannequins to teach the girls that friendship means more than a million likes - and to hand Jay a heroic rescue of his very own. And Connie? She and Jules decide the room is Jillian's after all.

Found on Expect the Unexpected Album 65 · 6 episodes

The run See every episode

0844 Charlotte When Whit's old friend Wilson lets slip a secret he's been keeping, a chess game at Whit's End unravels into the painful story of the sister who came between them - and the family wounds that never fully healed.

0845 Walk Worthy A comic-book-obsessed homebody joins a hiking troop to earn a dream trip with his dad, but a friend's tempting gift forces him to decide whether the troop's oath is worth living up to.

0846 The Last Straw A ruined science project and an on-air joke gone wrong force two sisters and a radio host to wrestle with what forgiveness really requires.

0847 Beyond Repair A pastor sits with a young woman in a prison visiting room as she prepares to face - and finally confront - the father she hasn't seen in fifteen years.

0848 The New Olivia Fresh off a mortifying stage debut, a middle schooler reinvents herself with fake glasses and a borrowed accent at a leadership conference - until keeping up the act proves harder than living it down.

0849 Out to Sea A relaxing deep-sea fishing trip aboard a rickety charter boat spirals into disaster when the fish won't bite but everything else does.

0850 The Shame About Fame Two Odyssey girls launch an online talk show chasing internet fame, while Connie weighs whether a delightfully flighty free spirit is roommate material - and a jelly bean stunt puts everything to the test.

0851 The Sandwich Initiative When his kids keep leaving messes for others, a dad launches a secret backyard experiment - built around one abandoned ham sandwich - to teach them to take initiative.

0852 The Toy When a detective's investigation into a dying boy's beloved plush rabbit pulls half of Odyssey into the case, no one can guess what the toy is really carrying.

0853 The Good in People A newly elected drama club president stakes everything on a bold promise, but a mysterious benefactor's offer proves too good to be true.

0854 Not What I Expected When a school career test sends cheerful Zoe to a funeral home and aspiring detective Emily to a law office, both girls discover their assignments hold far more than they expected.

0855 Divided We Fall When a backyard treehouse project ends in an accident, Buck's future with the Meltsners lands in the hands of a judge - and Eugene must confront whether he's fit to be a father at all.

0856 Much Ado about Jealousy When her best friend picks a rival's party over her, a hurt Jules finds a thrilling new companion in Connie's roommate Jillian - and soon everyone around them is wrestling with feeling replaced.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 2 more roles

2 supporting roles

Ted Humphries Keith Ferguson Potential Roomie Kathy Buchanan

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Kathy Buchanan Writer · Director Nathan Jones Sound Designer Nathan Hoobler Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Connie Kendall and her younger sister Jules are interviewing candidates to fill the empty room in their house, and Connie is having second thoughts about the whole idea. Then Jillian Marshall breezes in - a bubbly, pink-haired whirlwind who has already been a sous chef, a surfing instructor, a professional line stander, a licensed plumber, and an assistant producer on a Los Angeles talk show. Jillian believes in grabbing life by the horns, changes her hair color constantly ("If you don't like it, wait five minutes. It'll be different"), and plans to open a handmade jewelry shop in Odyssey. Jules adores her instantly, but Connie says no. Connie once had a reputation for being flighty herself and has worked hard to outgrow it; as Jules's guardian, she wants a roommate who is consistent, reliable, and mature.

Meanwhile, at Whit's End, Olivia Parker and Zoe Grant announce their new online talk show, Live with Olivia and Zoe. They are sure they are destined for fame, but they need help with the set, camera, and lighting. Jay Smouse, angling for stardom, talks his way into being their first guest by promising to fit an amazing number of jelly beans in his mouth - a stunt he insists is safe only because he is a "trained expert." Connie, meanwhile, gently turns Jillian down as a roommate, and Jillian takes it graciously, then asks Connie to help with the business side of her jewelry shop. Connie agrees on one condition: Jillian, the former talk-show producer, must help Olivia and Zoe launch their show. Jillian is delighted.

The first episode starts smoothly, thanks to Jillian's coaching, but disaster strikes at jelly bean number thirty-four: Jay begins to choke. Olivia panics, shrieking into the phone at the 911 operator, while Zoe stays calm, pounds Jay's back, and finally performs abdominal thrusts that send the jelly beans flying. Jay, recovering, insists Zoe was hugging him. When she explains it was the Heimlich maneuver, he shrugs, "You say potato. I say hug."

The video rockets past two hundred thousand views. Zoe is celebrated as a hero, but the comments mockingly nickname Olivia "Frantic Girl." In a television interview, reporter Ted Humphries praises Zoe's cool head, and when he asks how she stayed so calm, Zoe admits that Olivia "can be a bit dramatic at times." Olivia is crushed. Feeling thrown under the bus and humiliated in front of the whole town, she quits the show - and the friendship. Zoe cannot understand it at first, since they got the fame they wanted, until Jillian offers her cupcake philosophy: everyone admires the frosting on the outside, but the best part is the cream filling within. People who only know your frosting barely know you at all; real friends know your filling.

On the night of the free first-aid class inspired by the viral video, Zoe finds Olivia hiding outside in her mom's car, pretending to guard the trailer of CPR mannequins. Zoe apologizes for not standing up for her, telling her, "Your friendship means more to me than a million likes online." The cupcake compliment sails right over Olivia's head, but the apology lands. Still, Olivia refuses to appear in public as the town loser, so Zoe hatches a ridiculous scheme: she will step in front of an oncoming car just as the reporters come outside, so Olivia can shove her to safety and become a hero herself. Olivia is horrified and flatly refuses to let her best friend risk getting hurt - proving to them both that their friendship matters more than fame. As the two girls hug and make up, someone shouts a warning, and in a wild twist it is Jay who ends up rescuing them from the runaway trailer of CPR mannequins. The news crews catch everything, and soon Ted Humphries is interviewing Odyssey's newest local hero, who modestly describes himself as fearless, gallant, and a superhero for our modern age - and declares that one of the girls he saved is his future wife.

Back at the Kendall house, Connie admits she judged Jillian too quickly. Right on cue, Jillian arrives carrying a life-size cardboard cutout of herself to display jewelry at her booth - her first employee, she jokes, and one that needs no benefits. Connie and Jules invite her to be their roommate after all. Jillian declares, "I'm literally beside myself with excitement," and for once, with two Jillians standing on the doorstep, the word literally is exactly right.